


Unfortunate encounters

by MyLadyDay



Category: One Piece
Genre: Breaking and Entering, Guns, M/M, hitman!izou, thief!thatch
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-07
Updated: 2016-08-30
Packaged: 2018-08-07 07:57:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,384
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7706722
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MyLadyDay/pseuds/MyLadyDay
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>There's only so many times you can run into a person before you regret not shooting them when you had the chance.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Summer

**Author's Note:**

> My entry for Share the love month on Tumblr. Each chapter has a specific theme from the event.  
> The theme of chapter 1 is 'Summer'

The air was hellishly hot, making everything sticky with sweat even though there was pretty much nothing left to stick to his skin. He was barely dressed in a pair of boxers, none of the covers on the bed actually covering him at the moment. Izou was anything but a fan of summer, especially the heat waves that seemed to happen more often these recent years. The heat made it impossible to work or think or even breathe without wanting to die to get away. 

Izou didn’t have a habit to work when it was this hot anyway, so he could stay inside his house with the air conditioning on until he felt human again. It was a good solid plan and it was working perfectly. Until the damn AC broke early in the evening and getting it fixed immediately wasn’t an option, which did nothing for Izou’s mood. 

It was the middle of the night and Izou was sprawled all over the bed, feeling like he might melt into the mattress any second unless something happened. All the windows were wide open, but there was barely a breeze to keep him from actually catching fire. There was no way he’d be able to fall asleep at all and that annoyed him possibly even more than the heat itself. 

With the mood he was in, Izou didn’t worry one bit about the windows being open. Between that and all the guns hidden around the probably too big house, Izou felt more than safe. He’d just rather feel less hot. 

Strider was awake as well, Izou could hear him sigh every once in awhile at the foot of the bed, probably suffering even more in the heat than Izou was. He honestly couldn’t wait for autumn, if he made it until then. At this point, he was sure the boredom would be the end of him, if the heat didn’t finish the job first.

He was debating whether it was worth the effort to get up and get something to drink, when Strider sat up, ears pointed and at attention as he stared towards the open bedroom door and the stairs just outside. There was a low growl coming from his maw and Izou didn’t need anything more to pull out the closest gun from under the mattress just by the headboard. 

Jumping up from the bed, heat and boredom forgotten, Izou commanded Strider to stay right there on the bed; if he was going to have to shoot someone, Izou would rather Strider didn’t find himself in the crossfire by accident. 

Slowly and carefully, Izou sneaked through the house, knowing his way around without even a hint of light needed. He could hear the sound of footsteps, albeit faintly, coming from downstairs and Izou made his way towards it. 

The short hairs at the nape of his neck were sticking uncomfortably against his skin, as was the longer hair he kept in a loose braid, between his shoulder blades. Even the gun, something he usually found almost comforting, felt awfully uncomfortable in his hands with all the sweat. 

He fucking hated summer.

As he got closer to the sounds of an intruder, Izou figured he wasn’t about to face a professional given the noise he was making. The paintings were there, though, so Izou managed to figure out what this would be thief wanted to steal from him. After all, there was a da Vinci in there, a Rembrandt and a Rubens, to name a few, and they were all virtually priceless. To have an amateur try and steal them was nothing short of an insult. 

“You’re not doing a very good job, you know,” Izou said, pointing his gun at the figure in front of him, half shrouded in darkness. He couldn’t help but notice the way the figure startled at the sound of Izou’s voice and it was a source of great amusement. In any other situation, Izou would have shot the burglar already, but he was feeling kind of merciful given that he was very bored at the moment.

“What do you mean?” the guy turned around slowly. “I was doing perfectly fine. Maybe you should just go back to sleep.”

“Maybe I should just shoot you,” Izou said, “and then go back to sleep.”

“I like my idea better, if we’re being honest,” the guy said, sounding very dismayed.

Izou stepped forward into the light cast by the moon through the nearest window, arms outstretched in front of him with the gun at the ready, still pointed at the burglar. He was about to reply, say something probably more witty than one should share with an intruder in their home, but Izou never got a chance to speak.

“Holy fuck,” the guy said, voice going unusually high. “You’re- but- I don’t-” he sputtered. “Wow,” was all that he said in the end and Izou, for all his usual cool he had while holding a gun, found himself slightly confused.

“You okay over there?” he asked, curious about the strange reaction. “I mean, I haven’t shot you yet so…” Izou trailed off with a shrug, though the gun remained as still as it was.

“What do you mean ‘yet’?” the guy asked. “I haven’t stolen anything from you! And I’m not planning on it anyway.”

“I am the one with the gun, so I’d imagine you wouldn’t be dumb enough to try and steal something now,” Izou pointed out and he took the silence he got in reply as the guy agreeing with him.

“No, please, I’m sorry,” the guy said hurriedly, “I know who you are and if I’d have known, I wouldn’t have taken this job in the first place, please don’t shoot me,” he added, speaking faster than should be humanly possible. 

“Someone hired you to break into my house?” Izou asked incredulously. “Sorry to be the one to tell you, but someone wants you dead, my friend.” He knew he wasn’t wrong; no one in their right mind would hire someone to break into Izou’s house to steal something from him, if they knew who and what he was. You don’t steal from a hitman with a reputation, after all.

“You may be right,” the guy said, still sounding a bit frightened. “So you might just let me go, yeah?” It was adorable, the way he sounded optimistic.

“Who hired you to break in here?” Izou asked, never lowering the gun, but he wasn’t planning on shooting anymore. He wasn’t about to be tricked into killing someone for free. “Tell me everything and I may give you a headstart.”

“Marshall Teach paid me to steal a Rembrandt, he didn’t say whose house it was I swear!” the guy said and Izou almost snorted. “That’s all I know!”

“What’s your name?” Izou asked then, believing that he was telling the truth.

“I’m pretty sure I shouldn’t tell you that,” the guy said dubiously. 

“You shouldn’t have broken into my home either and yet here we are,” Izou pointed out. “Your name.”

“Thatch,” the guy said softly, reluctantly, as if he had no other choice. Izou supposed he thought he didn’t. The gun did have that effect on people.

“Well, Thatch, I think it’s time you run,” Izou said, stepping closer again.

“What?” Thatch startled and Izou grinned at him.

“Run,” he repeated and this time, Thatch listened. Izou grinned after him, knowing his boredom problem would be solved soon when he started looking into Marshall Teach. Maybe he’d even investigate Thatch as well. One could find out a lot with just a first name to go by.


	2. History

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Week 2 of Share the love month for the theme History.

"I'd have thought you'd lay low for a while after almost getting shot."

Thatch startled at the sound of the voice behind him, unfortunately obviously finding himself in the same situation with the same person in the span of a week. Maybe he should have taken it as a sign and found a more respectable profession.

"I am laying low," Thatch said, trying to recover from the minor heart attack he no doubt suffered just then. He was debating whether to turn around or not, not knowing whether there was a gun pointed at him again.

"You're in the house of the man who tried to kill you," Izou started, "stealing his beloved collection of roman coins." That was said in a way that suggested he couldn't see how Thatch figured this would be a good way to lay low, which admittedly, it wasn't.

"What are you doing here?" Thatch asked instead of commenting on Izou's logic, finally deciding on turning around to face him.

"Taking care of some business," Izou replied with a shrug just barely visible in the almost complete darkness of the room. There wasn't a gun pointed at Thatch and that warranted some optimism on his side. Though, he was dressed in all black in someone else's house in the middle of the night. Knowing what he did for a living, Thatch wasn't sure what that business was exactly.

"Already taken care of it?" he asked hesitantly.

Izou hummed in a way that only vaguely sounded like a confirmation. "You should take the ivory reliefs too, while you're at it," he said instead. "I'm pretty sure those are Italian, early christian. Very valuable."

"Why?" Thatch asked, immensely suspicious.

"He won't need them anymore," was all Izou said and honestly, it did absolutely nothing to explain or make Thatch feel better.

"Do I want to know what you did to him?" Thatch asked, kind of redundantly. He was already sure he did not want to know.

"Not really," Izou told him. "Keep asking so many questions and you might find out first hand, though."

Thatch did not want to find out first hand and he said as much, earning a laugh from Izou.

"Well, goodbye, Thatch," Izou said next before making his way into the darkness of the house. "I wouldn't stay here for very long if I were you," he called out before disappearing.

Thatch was both impressed and terrified of Izou at this point, but couldn't help but hope they'd meet again.


	3. Stars and Art

With the way Strider ran out of the room and down the stairs in a rush, disappearing into the darkness, Izou knew there was something going on. At this point, he was fairly certain what that something was, too, but he still grabbed his gun on the way out. On the off chance that it wasn’t Thatch breaking into his house again, Izou didn’t want to be caught off guard by some two bit hitman trying to get rid of the competition.

Still, despite the possibility of actual danger, Izou hadn’t bothered with sneaking downstairs, knowing it was safe to move given that Strider had made it downstairs. Izou followed without making a sound, courtesy of the soft carpets laying around virtually everywhere, and he was confident the intruder hadn’t heard him.

He couldn’t help but think that at least he wasn’t bored anymore, what with the occasional break in the past several weeks where a certain someone seemed to just come by to pet the dog and leave random and sometimes well hidden presents. Mostly though, Izou suspected, it was to pet the dog.

Thatch was obviously very good at what he did, considering he hadn’t tripped any of the alarms in the house so far, but he hadn’t taken anything either, and as far as Izou could tell, he never ventured upstairs where the master bedroom was. As far as Izou was concerned, it was all pretty harmless. And that one time he left gummi worms as if he knew Izou loved them was also a huge plus in Izou’s book.

The closer he got to the ground floor, with the gun held in front of him, Izou heard Strider and a light male voice. It was enough to make him lower the gun as he couldn’t help but scoff to himself.

“No, get away, I’ll pet you when I put this up,” Thatch’s voice sounded from the middle of the house, where Izou kept all the art he’d acquired through the years. “Stop it or you’ll wake Izou up and he’ll shoot me,” Thatch hissed while Strider whined at him. “You’re damn hopeless, dog,” he added with undeniable affection in his voice. It was ridiculous.

Izou put the safety back on, the gun secure in his grip by his side as he walked closer until he could lean against the doorframe and flick the lights on, startling Thatch almost like that first time, except now Izo could actually get a look at him. At the moment, he looked almost blinded by the light, Strider blinking confusedly at his side.

“You’re going to get shot if you keep this up,” Izou said, though he knew he wouldn’t be the one to shoot Thatch. Probably.

“Should I be worried about this thing you have with shooting people?” Thatch asked, still trying to adjust to the light. There was a frame in his hands, whatever was in it turned towards his body so Izou couldn’t see what it was.

“You do know what I do for a living,” Izou told him as simply as if he walked dogs for a living.

Thatch looked as if he’d finally caught up with the lighting situation, but his entire focus turned to Izou, and he had to wonder whether he should have bothered with putting pants on after all.

“Are you checking me out?” Izou asked teasingly, knowing the answer already, but wanting to embarrass Thatch just a bit. Considering everything, it was a small punishment for breaking into his house yet again.

Surprisingly, Thatch only lifted his gaze to look Izou straight in the eye with before raising an eyebrow.

“Of course I am,” Thatch said as if it was the only thing that made sense. “You’re gorgeous.”

Izou was surprised and a tiny bit embarrassed, the answer coming slightly unexpectedly. Judging by the smirk on Thatch’s face, though, it was the reaction he wanted.

“We can talk about that later, though,” Thatch said before Izou could reply. “I have something for you.”

He lifted the frame in his hands a bit to bring Izou’s attention to it, but didn’t move from where he stood.

“I was hoping to put it up so you could see it tomorrow, but I suppose I can show you now since you’re here,” Thatch said, sounding slightly nervous suddenly, the confidence from before when he’d complimented Izou seemingly gone.

“No,” Izou said. “Put it up and I’ll see it tomorrow,” he added before backing out of the room, whistling for Strider to follow. “Don’t forget to turn off the lights on your way out,” Izou called out with a smile as he made it to the stairs, before retreating back up to his room, knowing Thatch would go out the way he’d come in like he usually did.

“Sweet dreams, Izou,” Thatch called out from downstairs a moment later.

“Good night,” Izou said, just loud enough to be heard before he was in his room, closing the door behind him.

* * *

Izou would be lying if he claimed that it wasn't making him curious, but he'd said he wouldn't look before morning so he was doing his damn best not to. He hadn't left his room the entire night, somehow falling asleep eventually with Strider curled up at the foot of the bed as usual.

The moment he'd woken up, though, was like it was Christmas morning, and he knew Santa would be bringing him something he wished for. It could have been considered embarrassing, how he got out of bed in the morning, making his way downstairs just to see which painting was added to his collection.

The thought that Thatch was lying and actually stole all the other paintings in that room briefly crossed his mind, but Izou didn't entertain it for very long; Thatch knew very well what fate was waiting for him if he tried to mess with Izou.

Strider seemed just as excited as Izou jumped over the last few steps and made his way to his favorite room in the house. His expectations weren't that high, he supposed, expecting a Turner or maybe one of the Preraphaelites, considering they were immensely beautiful and amongst Izou's favorites even if their worth wasn't considered that high.

He certainly wasn't expecting to find Van Gogh's Starry Night on his wall. There was a bright yellow post-it stuck to the wall underneath the frame, Izou noted once he snapped out of his stupor, and he walked over immediately to see what it said. Surely, it was a forgery and an amazing one at that.

**The one in New York is a fake and the real one fits in here better than collecting dust in my safe house :)**

**P.S. it's not as pretty as you are**

Izou read the message several times before he started laughing out loud, almost hysterically, as he realized he wasn't the only one with a reputation. Until that moment, though, it was difficult to reconcile Thatch, the easily startled man who broke into his house to bring candy and dog treats, with Interpol's most wanted art thief and forger. Who was apparently flirting with Izou now as well.

Well, he was certainly no longer bored. 


	4. Kitten

Thatch was incredibly proud of himself for the way he managed to flirt with Izou without his face catching fire. Or getting shot, if Izou didn’t like it. Strangely, that hadn’t crossed his mind at the time and if it had, he’d probably chicken out. So in the end, it was probably a good thing he didn’t think of that, despite the fact Izou always seemed to have a gun in his hand whenever they saw each other. While slightly worrisome, Thatch supposed it was also to be expected from a man in Izou’s line of work.

After that first meeting, though, it was difficult to stay afraid of Izou. With the reputation he had, Thatch knew he’d have been dead a long time ago had Izou wanted to kill him. And considering he was still alive even after continuously breaking into Izou’s house, Thatch was confident that things were going well for him and he sincerely doubted he’d won Izou’s favor with a pack of gummies. 

It was the fact that Izou was immensely fascinating that made Thatch come back again and again, but he couldn’t really remember his reasoning for starting to bring presents on his trips. It was a polite thing to do, he supposed, but this time, he wasn’t so certain that it would go over well.

When he’d set out to visit Izou, and Strider as well, Thatch hadn’t been planning on bringing a kitten. Giving animals as presents was idiotic and usually ended poorly for the animal, which made him sad most of the time. Finding that small cat, though, made him rethink his plan.

He couldn’t have just left it there, meowing softly where it was tucked inside some bushes at the bottom of the hill where Izou’s house was. For the moment, Thach didn’t think about who would even leave a kitten there, he’d just picked it up before continuing his trek towards the house. 

It was only while walking that Thatch considered whether this was a good idea or not. If Izou wasn’t awake, there was no way he could just leave a kitten in his house, especially with Strider around. He was a good dog, but there was no knowing whether he’d like a cat or not. 

For all his usual affinity to make foolproof plans, Thatch was at a loss this time and he didn’t like it one bit. Still, he cuddled the kitten against his chest, unable to stop the most likely goofy grin at the sight of it fitting perfectly into the palm of his hand. It was so damn tiny, Thatch couldn’t understand how someone could just leave it out to fend for itself. He was getting irrationally angry just thinking about it, which was why he hadn’t noticed the lights on in the kitchen until he got close to the house. 

Izou was usually never downstairs when Thatch came by, only appearing if Strider ran downstairs to greet him. Somehow, Thatch should have guessed the visit would be an odd one as soon as he’d discovered the kitten, but it hadn’t crossed his mind until just then. 

He walked forward, though, sneaking into the house like he usually did, and at this point he suspected that Izou knew exactly where the weak spot in his security was, but left it alone because Thatch hadn’t done anything bad yet. Hoisting himself onto the deck, however, was much harder while using only one arm considering he needed the other to hold the kitten, but he did manage in the end, a little worse for wear. 

The cat was completely indifferent to his suffering, of course. 

Thatch made his way to the kitchen immediately, figuring he should say hi if Izou was really there. It was one thing to break into his house a couple of times a week while he slept, but it was something completely different to do it while Izou himself was awake and downstairs. As soon as he stepped into the kitchen, though, the usual giddiness turned into worry.

“Can you help me with this, I can’t quite manage on my own,” Izou said without looking up from the bleeding wound on his shoulder. It looked like a gunshot wound, but Thatch wasn’t too familiar with those considering he did his best to not get shot. 

“Is that a cat?” Izou asked after having looked up because Thatch hadn’t said anything. “Is it for me?” he asked, the confusion on his face morphing into a sweet smile and honestly, Thatch was completely gone at that point.

“Yes, if you want it,” he replied as he moved closer to where Izou sat, setting the kitten down into his lap before walking over to the kitchen sink to wash his hands. “I’ve never done this before so you’ll have to walk me through it,” he added, glancing over his shoulder to where Izou scratched behind the kitten’s ear. 

“That’s alright,” Izou said rather distractedly. “The bullet just grazed me so all you need to do is clean and bandage it.”

“Does this happen often?” Thatch asked once he returned to Izou’s side, taking the disinfectant Izou pointed to and a clean wad of gauze. “Getting shot, I mean.”

“Less than you’d think, actually, but sometimes people have bodyguards,” Izou said without looking up from the kitten in his lap. He hissed while Thatch cleaned the wound, but he didn’t bother offering an apology as it had to be done and they both knew it. 

“I think I’m going to name her Arwen,” Izou said distractedly as he stroked the kitten’s back. “She needs a bath, though, and a good meal. Oh, thank you for the painting, by the way. I love it,” Izou added suddenly, lifting his head to look at Thatch with a smile.

Thatch couldn’t help but smile back, amused how a kitten seemed to make Izou happier than the painting, though he supposed he could see why. Kittens were awesome. He said nothing about that, in the end, only reaching over for bandages to dress the wound, smiling all the while.

“You’re welcome,” he said softly once he was done with the bandage, smiling when Izou looked at him.

“Would you like to stay tonight?” Izou asked suddenly, hand still stroking the kitten, but his eyes were focused on Thatch. 

“I would love to,” he said genuinely, knowing full well the invitation included only sleeping, but that was fine by him.

“Then take Arwen, please,” Izou told him and Thatch did so immediately, scooping her up into the palm of his hand before pressing her against his chest as he did before. 

Izou took his other hand as he stood from the chair he was sat on, smiling at Thatch’s startled expression before he started walking out of the kitchen, turning off the light as soon as he could and Thatch had no other option but to follow.

“Strider’s in my room, probably freaking out,” Izou said as they walked towards the stairs, his hand warm in Thatch’s own. “He gets upset when I’m hurt.”

“I can understand that,” Thatch said, following close behind Izou once they started up the stairs, careful not to trip or disturb the kitten in his hand. “I’d be upset too.”

Strider shot out of the room as soon as the door opened, running around Izou until Izou crouched down to pet him, which calmed him considerably. 

“I’ll make you breakfast in the morning if you help me bathe Arwen,” Izou said from where he was crouched down, rubbing Strider’s belly. Thatch could hardly see them in the dark, nothing but the barest hints of moonlight shining through the window, but he could hear the thumping of Strider’s tail against the floor just as he could hear the amusement in Izou’s voice.

“Sounds fair,” Thatch said, petting the kitten in his hand. 

Izou stood then, moving into his room before Thatch could ask where he’d be sleeping and who gets the kitten for the night, momentarily distracted when Izou dropped his pants as soon as he was close to the large bed inside. He hadn’t been wearing a shirt anyway and Thatch had no idea why this still surprised him so, considering Izou was wearing clothes no more than just one time they’d met.

“You can sleep in the hallway if you’d like, but there is enough room for the both of us here,” Izou called out from the room, startling Thatch again, but only slightly this time. 

“Are you coming?” Izou climbed into bed as he asked that and honestly, Thatch couldn’t even consider refusing. This seemed like a once in a lifetime opportunity and he’d be a fool to let it pass.

Still, lying in bed with Izou and a kitten curled up between them and Strider at their feet was a scene far more domestic than he’d been expecting. It was far better, too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wooo I finished a thing :D I like this AU so I might write oneshots for it too if I ever feel like it ^^


End file.
